nov201510

A few years ago, Guy Mayraz, who is now a behavioural economist at the University of Melbourne, conducted a test of wishful thinking. He divided experimental subjects into “farmers”, who benefited from high wheat prices, and “bakers”, who profited when wheat was cheap. Then he showed them historical charts of wheat prices and asked them to make forecasts. Mayraz paid a bonus for accuracy, yet the farmers systematically predicted higher prices than the bakers. This is wishful thinking in its purest form. Whether engaged in a tough negotiation, or simply trying to predict the future, we find it hard to distinguish between what is true, and what we wish was true.